Adam's Canadian 13B Rotary 818-SR Build

[Frank818]

Nice seats!

[wleehendrick]

Nice seats!

Very nice! just like mine (NRG) but I din't spring for c.f.

I like how you plugged the steering rack. I'm just starting to work on mine, and may copy your idea.

[Canadian818]

So I took a shot at powder coating, and the front spindle brackets are in the oven now. I had the parts pre-heating in the oven when I took out the powder and realized I didn't have black. I ordered a starter kit months ago, and I don't understand why I didn't get one with black. My choices were limited, only real options were gold or silver. I have some aluminum Z32 callipers coming and their going gold so I went with that. If it stands out through the wheel I'll just re-coat it black later. Pics soon!

[tmoretta]

Which NRG model are they? I am concerned that this brand is a cheap Chinese copy of something like Corbeau or Sparco, any thoughts?

[Canadian818]

Cooling now, seen at least one blemish. Not worried, first try. Probably because I used thinner instead of acetone for cleaning, or just lack there of.

[Canadian818]

Which NRG model are they? I am concerned that this brand is a cheap Chinese copy of something like Corbeau or Sparco, any thoughts?

They're NRG RSC-300's. The quality doesn't appear 'cheap', however there is a little flex in it. I expect it will go away once its bolted down though. My issue is the harness holes are so limiting, unlike the ones pictured on the website. If I can't line it up properly I'll have to make the holes larger and find a new grommet. It still might work though, so I'm not worried just yet.

[Rasmus]

I have some aluminum Z32 callipers comin...

I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy. Can't wait to see pictures.

[Canadian818]

Is everyone installing their shocks as they come in the box? I remember reading months ago about adjusting them, but there's never any mention of it in the build threads.

[Xusia]

They come preset for the 818. As I understand it, the "settings" were derived at via track testing by Wayne with the help of on-site Koni engineers. So they should be really good out of the box.

[Frank818]

If my memory of reading Erik's thread doesn't fail, they come at the lowest of their 3 settings, which is the smoothest.

[Canadian818]

Thanks Frank!

[Xusia]

I thought they had more than 3 settings. Regardless, let me tell you these are stiff - REALLY stiff. I literally have to jump up and down on the frame to get the suspension to move - pushing on it does nothing. Even then, I'm lucky if I can get it to move an inch. Compare that to any production car, which moves quite a bit with just pushing. The suspension is designed and calibrated for excellent handling right out of the box.

[Frank818]

Yeah too stiff is bad for roads around here. It makes the car much less good at handling, so the opposite effect, in essence.
They may be that hard cuz they are new and not broke in yet. But I wouldn't be surprised if they actually are stiffer than almost any production car, it's race kit car, after all. lolll

[Spotty]

Hey! Another Albertan! I'm down in Lethbridge.

As for the seats, they are usually pretty good but they are cheaper because they arnt crash tested. I don't think that's a huge deal since they just copy a seat that does.

If this thing is running this summer you should head down here for July 11-13. Street Wheelers weekend. It's huge and so much fun!

[Canadian818]

Hey! Another Albertan! I'm down in Lethbridge.

As for the seats, they are usually pretty good but they are cheaper because they arnt crash tested. I don't think that's a huge deal since they just copy a seat that does.

If this thing is running this summer you should head down here for July 11-13. Street Wheelers weekend. It's huge and so much fun!

Welcome to the forum, I might have to check that show out. Even if the car is done, I doubt I'll go that far without a top. If your ever in Edmonton, drop by and say hello.

[RM1SepEx]

I thought they had more than 3 settings. Regardless, let me tell you these are stiff - REALLY stiff. I literally have to jump up and down on the frame to get the suspension to move - pushing on it does nothing. Even then, I'm lucky if I can get it to move an inch. Compare that to any production car, which moves quite a bit with just pushing. The suspension is designed and calibrated for excellent handling right out of the box.

I believe that there are 5 settings. They are intended to fit the application in the as shipped, softest position and then be adjusted stiffer as they wear with use. The red R shocks and the yellow S shocks are not the same construction or dampening

[Canadian818]

Little elbow grease goes a long way!




Does everyone spend this much time on nuts and bolts? Sand blasted, wired wheeled, and POR15.




Look what showed up! I tried to convince my wife to hand it on the wall above our bed, but no luck.



Quality is amazing!!!




Picked up some black powder coat, getting all the little stuff done. I was able to fit all this in at once, however after the bake I opened the oven to cool but failed to turned the oven off (not used to the new buttons, haha). Anyway, an hour later I went out to check out my parts and seen the coil glowing, oops. The parts were alright, slight signs of over heating but nothing worth re-doing.

[Rasmus]

Does everyone spend this much time on nuts and bolts? Sand blasted, wired wheeled, and POR15.

I wish I had a better plan for my nuts and bolts. I don't want to change the size of the heads by applying layers of product. Or have to worry about the product gumming up the threads requiring a die or tap on every single piece. But I don't want just just run bare and have my hardware rust up again. I think I'm looking for a mythological product to treat hardware.

And car parts in the kitchen?! And such a well put together kitchen too. Keep your nasty, greasy, car parts out of that woman's kitchen. What would her mother think? You barbarian.

[Canadian818]

I wish I had a better plan for my nuts and bolts. I don't want to change the size of the heads by applying layers of product. Or have to worry about the product gumming up the threads requiring a die or tap on every single piece. But I don't want just just run bare and have my hardware rust up again. I think I'm looking for a mythological product to treat hardware.

And car parts in the kitchen?! And such a well put together kitchen too. Keep your nasty, greasy, car parts out of that woman's kitchen. What would her mother think? You barbarian.

I used silver anti-seize on the shafts and threads, and the por15 goes on quite thin and hard so sockets have been fitting fine and no gumming. I did paint the entire shaft of the rear lateral link bolts because it's exposed, but put a thin film of anti-seize on it as well. It slid in just fine.

It funny you say that about the kitchen, my mother is visiting and I was sure to unwrap and rewrap while she was out.

[Goldwing]

I originally planned on treating all the bolts that way, but my last project lingered too long and I ran out of time when the kit showed up. It's one of those things that needs to be done in the donor prep phase, as I am finding I don't have the patience now. I can't help myself and just have to see progress on the build. This cold winter isn't helping either. I'm painting all bare steel, a few at a time, at the end of any build session and let the air clear overnight.

[Canadian818]

Here's an idea I had, it will either be helpful to future builders or shot down as a flawed theory. Give me feedback either way.

I recently noticed a discussion on the forum about how to torque the front LCA after installing the firewall. The issue is it needs to be done at ride height, and typically the firewall is done prior to that stage of the build. While a crows foot might do the trick, it might be awkward, and you need to locate a 22mm crows foot. Also depending on the length of the crows foot, you'll be adding leverage which will affect the torque applied. You could also make a mark aligning both LCA and bushing at ride height, remove everything, clamp in place, torque on the bench and reinstall. The torqued bushing puts tension on the arm, stiffening movement and somewhat limiting travel. I accidentally over torqued the bushing (but not by much), and the difference in stiffness of the LCA was incredible. So it would seem to be critical to torque the bushing to OEM spec, which according to the FFR manual is 140ft/lbs.

I decided to bring the suspension to ride height, as apposed to lowering the chassis since its on a dolly. Once at ride height I torqued it to 140ft/lbs, and now that's done. Pretty simple, but its out of the way early. I realized after taking this pic that since I knew the overall diameter of the tire, I didn't need to mount it. So the passenger side was done much faster.




Anything wrong with this method?

Thanks,

Adam

[DodgyTim]

For the nuts and bolts, what about DIY zinc electroplating?
It appeals to the mad scientist part of me......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nyp7vtNUQQ

I can see this having its own special bench in the kitchen

[Santiago]

FWIW, most crowfoot extensions are not long enough to significantly change the torque you're applying (think "less than what's already within the wrench's accuracy range"). If you're using a really long extension or are just worried about it in general, you can do the math and calculate what the proper setting should be on the wrench to get the desired torque at the point of pivot using the extension.

On another note (and possibly a stupid question), is there any reason folks are not just cutting an access hole in the firewall for this?

Best,
-j

[Canadian818]

On another note (and possibly a stupid question), is there any reason folks are not just cutting an access hole in the firewall for this?

Best,
-j

It's a one time torque, to remove the arm later you just remove the bushing mounts and take it all out as a unit.

[Santiago]

Got it.

On a related note, I found the online calculator I've used for using extensions on a torque wrench, it's from Belknap Tools. They also have a desktop app you can download. Kinda cool.

Best,
-j

[Canadian818]

Been busy in the garage. All my firewall and foot box aluminum is in. I tucked the small piece in the middle in behind the foot rest for a cleaner look. This has been done before, by fate066 I believe. Requires some trimming, but worth it IMO.



Not sure why, but my clutch MC is too close to the frame to fit the reservoir. I've ordered a relocation kit from Mike Everson, but it just seems odd to be so much closer than the one in the manual.

[Canadian818]

I also installed my steering, including my nrg parts. I'm going to do a small DIY on the hub install soon, but here's how it looks.





This will make getting in and out much easier for me. I was worried about it making the wheel too close, but its not too bad. I may copy some of Aloha818's mods to shorten the column, but its not uncomfortable so I think I'll just wait for now.

[Rasmus]

Fancy column. I'm jelly.

Could you get a better shot of your footwell. What you're pointing out is lost in all that black.

[Canadian818]

Fancy column. I'm jelly.

Could you get a better shot of your footwell. What you're pointing out is lost in all that black.

Sorry, i couldn't get a good pic. With the flash was worse, and my camera isn't as good as I thought. At least not compared to other build threads.

Here's a pic from Fate006's thread showing the small panel mounted with the tabs on the inside.

[Frank818]

For the nuts and bolts, what about DIY zinc electroplating?
It appeals to the mad scientist part of me......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nyp7vtNUQQ

I can see this having its own special bench in the kitchen

Wouldn't that be just for appearance and it would wear out after time?

[Canadian818]

I was going to make a new thread on installing a NRG hub adapter, but I just realized that I'm missing a very important picture. So I'll just put it in my build thread and describe what I did that I can't show. If I ever need to take it off again, I'll be sure to get a pic.

I have no intention of using cruise control, and the NRG adapter doesn't make provisions for it on the column. I'm sure it could be done, but if you really want it there I believe the Bell hub adapter re-uses this piece.



I chucked it, but kept the center section and screwed it into the back of the NRG hub. This will reset the turn signal once you straiten the wheel, and of course is the only part I didn't take a picture of.

This piece is re-used, but I opened up the center to clear the auto-canceling ring. You can also see where I bolted in a power wire for the horn.



Here it is reinstalled. You can see the wire I used for the horn, it rides on the back side of the hub. Once again, this would be clear if I had taken just one more pic, doh!



Terrible quality, but you can see the wire preloaded out so it will press against the adapter.



Here's the adapter installed.



And everything installed minus the horn. There's a small ring/spacer for installing the horn, it didn't come with the wheel so I'll have to make one.



And for anyone considering the tilt steering, it also comes with this lock.

[Canadian818]

Picked up these rotors today to go with my nissan Z32 calipers, got a steal of a deal at $53/each. However I should've known that it was too good to be true, measured them when I got home and these are the 296mm x 24mm rotors to be used with subaru 4 pots. I need the 315mm x 30mm, which are $180/each most places however I've been offered a friend deal of $150/each. Thinking about giving in and ordering some DBA 5000 2-piece rotors for the front. It's double the money, but a 12.5" rotor is gonna be really heavy, and maybe I should just do it right the first time. Also, with aluminum 4 piston calipers and 2-piece rotors I'll be in wilwood territory. Still not sure what rotors I'll run in the rear.




Tacked in some rails to mount the seat to.



Clamped the seat in tight and I'm really impressed with how ridged it is. When it was just sitting in there it felt quite flimsy, but no worries of that now. It barely fits between the side of the car and the center tunnel, and as it is now it will be pushing against both with panels installed. I've heard others mention the steering wheel not being centered to the seat, and now that the seat is fixed and I've got a feel for the cockpit the wheel bugs me. I think I'll be cutting the tunnel tubing tomorrow and moving the seat in an inch. While I would like to leave the passenger seat over to maximize driver room, it would always annoy me that the seat are not centered. So the seats will just touch at the shoulders, but I'm ok with that. Any thoughts?



I was able to get the seat quite a bit back.



Once the seat location is set, I'll begin cutting the stock gas tank to fit. I'm also going to move the fill location so the fill tube isn't in the engine bay. But first I'll be installing these.

[Canadian818]

Well now it seems I can't get 2-piece legacy GT rotors. I was sure it was an option, but I just checked DBA and girodisc, nada.

[Frank818]

5-point harness?

2 or 3in wide?

[Canadian818]

3 inch

[Rasmus]

An offset of that size would bother me to no end. I'd have to fix it. Quite the over site on FFR's end. Seeing how you can weld, I think moving the center console bars is the best solution. As an added benefit your left arm have more room and bump into the chassis less.

[Canadian818]

An offset of that size would bother me to no end. I'd have to fix it. Quite the over site on FFR's end. Seeing how you can weld, I think moving the center console bars is the best solution. As an added benefit your left arm have more room and bump into the chassis less.

Thanks Rasmus. I'm about to go out to the garage to start cutting and figured I'd check to see if anyone posted against or in support. It'll be even closer quarters with the passenger, but I'm ok with that, there wont be someone there often. I'll reattach the bars in some way after, but I doubt they offer much rigidity. I'll also be cutting the seat belt brackets off behind the seat so I can wrap the harness around the crossbar.

Adam

[Rasmus]

Sure, man.

The console bars look like they offer no additional rigidity. They're long, thin, and untriangulated. Plus those 90 degree bends just make it al dente steel. They're qualified to hold up a console and a shifter, not to resist the twisting forces of a race car.

Cut 'em out. Put the seats right. Fab something up for the console

[Xusia]

Wow. I had no idea the seat was not centered. In my trial fittings, I didn't notice that. I hope it's because the WRX seats are narrower and therefore more centered. Such a offset would bother me badly. I'll be paying attention to that now. And I'm right at the stage where I'm making my seat mounting brackets. Thanks a ton for this insight.

On the center tunnel bars, I recall reading that they aren't structural at all. I considered completely removing them and having no center tunnel.

[Canadian818]

Cut them out, test fitted, much better. The shifter will HAVE to be under mounted now, seats are only 2.5" apart where it would mount. I'll probably have to straiten the shifter handle as well, 1st and 2nd will be too close to my leg. I might try pressing it out and rotating it to the passenger side as 5th and reverse are far less critical. Besides, they can just move!

As with everything this tightly engineered, you can't change anything without effecting 3 or 4 mor things. But that's the best part!